Leclerc fears Red Bull: 'They are strong on the straights'

On Saturday, Charles Leclerc has been a class act this season. But a day later, it turns out to be a lot harder to cash in on the best starting position of the race. In successive Barcelona, Miami and Monaco, the Ferrari driver missed out on victory.

Focus on the start

A few hours before the Grand Prix in Baku, Leclerc told F1TV that he indeed alternates good Saturdays with lesser Sundays. Although the Monegasque noted that the mechanical failure in Barcelona prevented victory and in Miami, the pole did not reflect the balance of power. He could be brief about Monaco: a strategic blunder prevented him from winning.

All the annoyance is now gone and in Baku, the penny should fall Leclerc's way. "We have to focus on the start, then everything is possible," he believes. "It's going to be hard, because we have to do tire management and Red Bull Racing are strong on the straights."

Better in the car

Carlos Sainz will start from fourth. "If I had had a clean lap, we would have been on the front row," says the Spaniard. "I feel better in the car. In the corners I feel relatively comfortable. But I still have problems fully understanding the car."